The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden

The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden
(The Vanderbeekers #2)
by Karina Yan Glaser
HMH Books, 2018. Juvenile Fiction, 327 p.
This is the second adventure of the Vanderbeekers who are members of a biracial family who live in Harlem, NY. In this story, their elderly friend, Mr. Jeet, has a stroke, and the kids decide to create a garden so that Mr. and Mrs. Jeet will have a nice place to visit when Mr. Jeet gets out of the hospital.  They choose an empty lot next to their church, and make their improvements without really getting permission from their pastor.  The road to good intentions has its pot holes, but the children overcome them through persistence and a healthy disregard for rules.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and I enjoyed this one as well.  The children's personalities and interactions are charming and funny. Even more appealing is the sense of community Glaser creates for her characters and that we all wish we enjoyed. This is a great choice as a read aloud for families with mixed age children or as an audiobook (available to download with your library card through RBDigital) to listen to on your next family road trip.